How Derryn Hinch knew he had been booted from Channel 7
Human headline Derryn Hinch found out he was being sacked from his Channel 7 current affairs show from the wardrobe lady. Here’s what happened.
Fiona Byrne
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Human headline Derryn Hinch discovered he was being sacked from his Channel 7 current affairs show when new suits were not ordered in his size for the following year.
“It was Valerie Nelson, who was the wardrobe lady, (who told him) and I have learnt since then make-up ladies and wardrobe ladies know everything about television,” Hinch said.
“Suddenly I discovered my new suits, my new Zegnas, had not been ordered or weren’t arriving, so you find out you are out of there because your new suits didn’t arrive.”
That axing of his namesake show at the end of 1991 after four years on Seven is just one of 16 sackings Hinch has experienced over his extraordinary career.
“I have been sacked 16 times, you could say 17 if you considered being voted out of the Senate,” Hinch told the Sacked Showbiz podcast.
“I have been sacked by experts. I remember once being sacked by Channel 10 when the Canadians owned it and I got fired.
“Carmel Travers was the new news boss, I called her ‘Charmless’ Travers so that probably did not help.
“I got to go on air (after his Hinch show was axed in 1993) and said, ‘Well the Royal Mounties finally got their man’, and I said, ‘You can’t legislate against stupidity’, and I was out the door.”
Television was not for the faint-hearted, Hinch said. “People say television is a dog eat dog industry, that is not true it is a rat eat rat industry,” he said.
Hinch clocks up 60 years in media this year and says he is not finished yet.
“It has been a great 60 years,” he said.
“I am hoping to have some more of it.”
HOW HINCH MISSED OUT ON 60 MINUTES ROLE